Irvin Defends Romo With Shots At Bledsoe

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When Tony Romo stepped into the starting role in 2006, he stepped into a pressure cooker on full blast.

His fault or not, Dallas hasn't won a playoff game in 13 years, and this tidbit has haunted the quarterback, somewhat unfairly, basically since he lost control of that ball in Seattle. Since then, Romo has become the most scrutinized figure in the NFL, subject to public harangues concerning any given aspect of his life, be it relevant (football), or patently stupid (Jessica Simpson).

With matters seemingly constantly on the cusp of boiling over in Dallas, and the city's fans desperate for a playoff win, we tend to forget that, yes, Tony Romo is a really good quarterback. He is, in fact, the only 4,000 yard passer in the history of the franchise (he did it in 2007); his 36 touchdowns in 2007 set a Dallas record, as did his seven 300 yard passing performances that season.

His 5-10 record in December and January, and his 2006 fumble in Seattle (a play on which Romo shouldn't have even been on the field) are caveats strong enough to knock many fans off the bandwagon, though, and they are the reason why he is skewered so consistently by fans and media.

But Michael Irvin has heard enough. Speaking to Yahoo! Sports this week, Irvin defended Romo against the verbal onslaught, to the peril of ex-starter Drew Bledsoe.

“Tony is 27-12 over his first 39 games," Irvin continued. "I don’t know anyone, on any team, at any time … who wouldn’t take a quarterback when you say he’s going to be 27-12 over his first 39 games. Every coach, every GM, every owner will raise their hand and say, ‘Give me that guy.’ That’s the bottom line."

Irvin makes a good point.

“Let’s put Drew Bledsoe back out here, because sometimes when you have a pretty girl for awhile, you forget how pretty she is," Irvin continued. "But when you throw the ugly girl next to her, you say, ‘No, I’m really doing well.’ Maybe we need to bring Drew out so we know we’re really doing well.”